mcguin

I know there's a lot of debate about this but im wondering...what is more effective for fat burning/conditioning- 30mins steady elliptical at 70%max hr or 15 minutes elliptical of Hiit, 1 minute rest 2 minutes sprint etc...

goob

No offense dude, but no-one can keep up a flat out sprint for 2 minutes.

For ultra hardcore, minimal muscle loss, try tabata protocol:


1)4 minute warm up - jog/ stretch
2)Sprints.
20 second all out 100% effort.
10 second rest
Repeat 8 times.
3) Warm down - 4 mins

Total time: 12 minutes.

Does not look that tough......but wait til you try it. Oh lord.

Gazhole

Tabata is awesome.

I think the most you can hope for sprinting is 30 seconds, and thats probably not full pelt all the way through.

http://sdatrainingprograms.blogspot.com - Updated 25/04/08

goob

Yeah I reckon so too. Even fresh, I can only keep a 100% effort for 25 seconds.

Tabata is brutal stuff.

Witchblade

Interesting topic. This has never been discussed before. Really.

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goob

Who said the Dutch can't do sarcasm?

Witchblade

On a more serious note, I added this question to the FAQ.

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Plateau_Max

You need to do both. Remember not all cardio is created equal. When you do high intensity cardio, it's like weight lifting in the fact that it's more towards the anaerobic sense of using less oxygen for creating ATP. For better health benefits in the long run you need to have a decent amount of both high and low intensity cardio in your routine.

I can't give you a perfect answer because I don't know everything about you. Just read up and know the honest to god facts before putting your trust in a few posts buy some random people you've never met. What works for one person isn't going to work for every person.

Also this is more of a bodybuilding site, so the percentage of people here geared towards fat loss alone, is pretty low. Bodybuilders tend to favor a lot of weight lifting mixed with only high intensity cardio because long bouts of cardio tears down skeletal muscle which is bad juju for a pro body builder.

"Years of hard work for only a single moment of perfection is a worthy trade." - Myself

goob

Well put.

In other words, mix HIIT with steady state. I currently do 2 x HIIT, 1 X steady state + 3 x lifting.

mcguin

and will this be suffice if done 3x a week for fat burning? I figure I could do this monday wed friday and tues and thursday ill do some steady state 20 minute cardio.
also when i said sprints before, i meant going from a speed on the elliptical of around 125 steps per minute to 140 steps per minute...

thanks for all your help, you guys have been very helpful...

goob

It's incredibly intense, really hard. I've never done on an eliptical, so therefore I'm not sure how hard that is in comparison to outdoor sprinting.

You could do it 3 times a week, but with lifting it would be hard on your CNS. Best cut it to Mon and Fri, with perhaps some gentle steady state on wed.

When I say it's hard - trust me. Remember you must go to 100% of ability on the 20sec sprints.

soxmuscle

Thanks for the tabata reference, this is most likely what I'll be doing in the mornings before work on cardio days as it prevents me from having to go to the gym.

Sounds intense.

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Gazhole

Tabata is brutal. The good thing about stuff like that is you can do it with anything, i used it with Circuit Training and it was brutal as hell.

Do three tabata intervals, then move on to the next movement and so on.

http://sdatrainingprograms.blogspot.com - Updated 25/04/08

mcguin

k nice, ill try it monday and friday then like you said...cant wait to try it out..thanks for your help

goob

Be cool if u report back how it went. In outdoor sprints, not many people at all can get to the end. Infact, I don't think many IM members could do it at all.

Built

Nope. For that you need to create a deficit and lift heavy. HIIT is only a small part of that.

AKIRA

Well you know I have and its...well, I dont look cool. However, looking cool has to be swallowed every time you enter the gym, honestly.

I started off doing 20 sec 'sprints' w/1 min of moderates in between for 8 sets and that shits rough. I got better at, quite quickly actually, then I increased the sprint time or decreased the rest time or both.

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rookie325

do you guys do these intervals on the same days when you lift???? or just set aside days just for cardio

AKIRA

I do them sometimes on the same days. Not regularly though.

6' 209lbs (8/16)
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Weighted Pullups 80lbs 3x3 (3/19)
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Deadlift after herniation 385lbs 3x3 (3/17)
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ArnoldsProtege

wow... on paper, 20 seconds of full out sprinting seems like a breeze... In actuality, its brutal lol. It honestly seems like time slows down for me when im sprinting.. I did a serious HIIT workout similar to this last summer, and I havent started yet, but im lookin to lose my final 10-15 lbs and be lean and mean, so I gotta bite the bullet.

I used to haaaaaate doing these last year; this was the only workout I did that I felt like i was gonna throw up lol. Mind you, I was doing more steady state and threw in pushups, situps, planks, diamonds and bicycles during rest intervals. Doing this type of workout lights my chest on fiiire lol. Definitely amazing for your metabolism and fat loss goals though... mix them in on off days, because I think ull be pretty gassed afterwards. Plus, like someone mentioned, your CNS would take a serious beating that day if u mix this with intense lifting (wich it should always be!). glhf

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Built

If you think sprint intervals are brutal, my friend you are indeed doing them right. You should alternate between moments of "direct commnion with God" and asking Him why He hates you - all while riding the jagged edge of "not-quite-puking" nausea.

Make sure you do a proper cool-down. At least five minutes of walking to get the blood out of the extremities - using the legs as the so-called "peripheral heart".

AKIRA

I was thinking about this thread today when it comes to warming up and cooling down.

Today was a push day and I proceeded to do a little HIIT cardio afterwards. As I was doing my 5 min warm up I thought, "I am already pretty warmed up. My HR is elevated, some endorphins are activated, why do this for 5 min?" So...I warmed up for 3 min, sprinted for 9 sets (instead of 6) and cooled down for 3 min.

Again, this was a day AFTER weight training, so Id not do this on a strictly HIIT day.

6' 209lbs (8/16)
Bench 360 (11/29)
Weighted Pullups 80lbs 3x3 (3/19)
Squat 370
Deadlift after herniation 385lbs 3x3 (3/17)
NASM certified 2/06
Journal

Built

Actually, warming up for HIIT isn't the same as warming up for steady state cardio. Getting the heart rate isn't really the big deal - the important part is to prepare the "prime movers" - the muscles that will be called upon to fire quickly - excited and ready to fly. For this you are better-served to use a dynamic warmup.

I wrote one up here, on my blog: Got Built? » High Intensity Interval Foreplay